Blast From the Past
by Shadow Ice Maiden
Summary: Maya Kitajima is a girl with a past. Unfortunately, she can't remember a big chunk of it. When circumstances force her and her mother to return to her childhood home, will she remember? Or will she be killed before she gets the opportunity? KuramaxMaya
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everybody! New story! YAY! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I've been trying to work on my writing. Hopefully this story will be a little better planned out than my previous ones. For those of you who don't know, Maya Kitajima is a canon character who appears in vol. 7 of the Manga in a bonus episode that explains how Kurama met Hiei.

Pairing: KuramaxMaya (any romance though will likely be a long way off…)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters or themes. I be broke. You no sue.

So without further ado, let's get started!

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There are many different types of bad days. Sometimes it's as mild as getting gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Other times the day just plain sucks from start to finish.

Today is one of the latter.

It started off with a dream that sent me screaming into consciousness. No, not just a dream. _The _dream. The dream I've been having since I was in junior high school. Since I knew _him._

I hadn't had it in a long while, so it took me by surprise when I woke up. I glanced at the alarm clock on the little bedside table that sat next to my twin-sized bed, only to realize I was late for school.

Said bed was immediately vacated and I rushed to pull on my tan and green plaid skirt and white blouse. Rushing down the stairs and out the door, I took a moment to gawk at my mom who was passed out on the couch, bottle still in hand. Shaking my head, I made sure to lock the door behind me before sprinting off down the street to school.

I was, of course, late to school, earning me a detention. My class was then hit with three consecutive pop quizzes, all of which were difficult and I'm pretty sure I did poorly on all of them. After serving my detention, I began the trek home.

"Where have you been, Maya?" Mom asked groggily, sipping on a mug of what must have been yesterday's coffee.

"School. Where everyone else my age was." I replied sarcastically. She didn't notice my tone.

"Oh. Right. Today's Monday… oh, that reminds me! I've got a gig at Riku's club tonight."

Riku is my mom's boyfriend. The third since my parent's divorced a year ago. He owns a club downtown. My mom and a few of her friends formed a band two years ago, _The Daiquiri's_, and perform a few nights a week at various clubs. I watch.

"I know. He told me last week." I said, slipping on my house slippers and moving towards the stairs. "I'm going to go do my homework, alright?"

"Sure, sure." Mom answered, lighting up a cigarette.

The club was noisy, as usual. The flashing lights illuminated dancing figures on the checkered floor in bright colors, giving an eerie image to any person sober enough to notice. At that particular moment, that category included… well, me.

Mom was still singing, her friend Motoko on drums, Saki on base, and Kari on lead guitar. They were all drunk, but they were having fun and those dancing were too intoxicated to notice. Sighing, I ran a hand through my long, black hair and called a cab. It was 2:55, meaning the club would close in five minutes. Why all these people were out clubbing on a Monday night… well, technically it was Tuesday morning… was beyond me.

The club was already half empty, bartenders advising customers to call cabs. Mom finished up her last song and stumbled off the stage, sitting down next to me minutes later to finish up her beer.

"Cab'll be here in a few minutes. You ready to go?" I asked tiredly.

"I will be just as soon as I finish this." She answered, slurring a little, "Oh, and Riku's staying over tonight."

"Seriously? Did he get kicked out again?" I questioned.

"No, of course not, silly. He just wants to come over. But you've got to go to sleep when we get home. You've got school tomorrow." Mom said, giggling a little. That was her sign to stop.

"You two about ready to leave?" Riku asked, coming up to us.

"Yeah. Cab's waiting." I responded as I helped Mom up from her seat.

"You mind if I join you guys?"

"Just as long as you keep it down this time…" I winced at the memory of the last time I was home when Riku slept over.

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Of course. No problem."

He helped me drag Mom, who was about ready to pass out, to the cab and load her in. Riku got in next to her and I followed. At the cabbie's inquisitive glance, I told him our address and we started moving.

Even after we left the club, I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach. My brown eyes flitted back and forth between Riku, Mom, and the cabbie.

We reached our house and got out, Riku carrying Mom, who was officially down for the count. I got the door and he brought her in, setting her down on the couch.

It was then, as he was straightening up, that I felt the change in energy around him. It was what I had been expecting all day, but it still took me by surprise. He turned around to face me, his face hidden in the shadows. He stepped towards me, and I took a half step towards Mom.

"You are definitely not Riku." I growled at him.

"Smart little girl." He replied, voice steely. I saw him pick up a paperweight from the shelf. I took another half step to the couch. "But not smart enough."

I saw the weight in time to dodge, but I never saw his fist. It caught me hard in the jaw and I flew back, towards the wall.

My vision swam for a few moments as I tried to shake of the daze. When I regained my senses, he was only about three feet in front of me.

"Who are you?" I questioned him, spitting blood out of my mouth from a split lip. He didn't answer, just stepped toward me again. When he got close enough, I kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him staggering backwards into a shelf. I ran towards Mom, shaking her hard as I got to the couch.

"Mom! Mom, wake up!" I shouted at her. Her eyes fluttered a little, but her mind was still in the sleep world. "Mom! It's Maya! Please wake up!"

"Maya? What's wrong?" she asked, voice raw from singing.

"We need to go now." I told her, dragging her to her feet. It was then that Riku came up behind me and grabbed me around the neck.

"Riku!" my mom shrieked. "Let go of her, dammit! What the hell are you doing?!"

I tried to tell her that it wasn't Riku, but I couldn't get enough air in my lungs to form words. I managed to wiggle down a little, and I sunk my teeth into his arm as hard as I could. He immediately recoiled and I fell to the ground coughing. My mom dragged me from the floor and we went running into the kitchen. Mom grabbed the phone off of the receiver and dialed the police.

I began looking for anything I could use as a weapon. Meanwhile, it appeared that Riku had recovered and stalked loudly after us. Mom and I crouched down behind the island that sat in the middle of our kitchen, staring up at him. As I focused on him, I saw _it._ The thing that haunted my dreams of the last year. There, sitting on Riku's right shoulder, was a blob of what looked like green goo with a face.

"_Are things like that always so repulsive?" _I heard the voice of a younger me flitter through my thoughts.

"_I'm sure you're mistaken, Maya." He _had said. _His_ voice struck me dumb. I heard it as if he was standing right next to me, though I knew he wasn't. I tried to remember more from that day, but all that came was a sharp pain in my head and fog.

My mind snapped back into focus when I heard the deep _thud _of his shoes hit the linoleum not two feet from where I was crouched. Mom signaled for me to be quiet and motioned to the door behind her. We crawled together over the cold floor, being careful to stay out of Riku's line of vision. Together, we hid in the coat closet and waited. Mom spoke softly into the phone, presumably to the police.

"The police are coming, we just have to wait." Mom whispered to me. I was relieved, but only for a moment. A distinct smell sent my heart racing.

"Mom? Do you smell smoke?" I asked, my voice breaking. Mom, face pale, opened the door a crack. Thick, black smoke floated into our hiding place.

"Maya, go! Get outside!" She yelled, and off we ran, crouching low, under the thick layer of black above us. I reached the door first and wrenched it open. Hearing a grunt, I spun around to see Riku with a chunk of Mom's hair fisted in his hand. My heart skipped two beats. The smoke escaped through the door, blowing out around me. I could see flames licking the couch in the living room. Smoke rolled in every corner, pushing against the ceiling, twisting and turning like snakes in the dark.

"Nowhere left to run, huh?" he gloated.

"Let her go." I heard myself say. The words came without any direction from my brain. "Let her go now!"

The flames had spread to the staircase, eating their way up onto the landing and into our rooms. A small part of my mind worried for my things. My clothes, schoolwork, drawings. The picture I kept of my dad. All of my memories. The larger part of my brain shoved that to the side and worried for Mom.

I heard something click.

"Drop the woman and put your hands on your head!" someone shouted from behind me.

I saw him drop Mom on the floor and then pass out himself, but then someone grabbed me by the shoulders and hauled me away to the ambulance. Firefighters were already putting out the flames. I saw two policemen help Mom out of the house and three others come out with Riku, who looked extremely confused. Instinctively I checked his right shoulder, where there was no longer a blob monster.

Someone covered my mouth with an oxygen mask and then the policemen sat Mom down next to me. We were both wrapped in blankets and the police asked us a few questions. Instinct told me what to say. I was too tired to pay attention. I slipped into unconsciousness with _his _face in my head.

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A/N: So yeah, that is the first chapter. I know you're probably thinking "Dude, where the heck are the guys" and I promise they will come in later.

Review pwease!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, here is chapter 2. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Plain and simple. That is all.

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When I awoke, all I saw was white. Vaguely I identified my surroundings as a hospital room. On my wrist was a bracelet with my name on it. The steady _beep beep beep _of the machine monitoring my heart cut through the silence like a knife through butter. The door to my room opened and a doctor came in.

"Oh, I see you're awake." He said. His blonde hair and blue eyes marked him as a foreigner, though it was impossible to tell from his Japanese.

"Uh huh…" I replied groggliy, attempting to sit up.

"You've been out for about ten hours. Not too long, considering. You passed out in the ambulance, but there's nothing physically wrong, so you should be fine." He said gently.

"Where's my mom?" I asked.

"You're mom is quite fine. Nothing to worry about. She'll probably come in to see you after she finishes with the paperwork. You'll be discharged by this afternoon." With that, he turned to leave. A few minutes later, the door opened again and in came Mom.

"Maya! Are you all right? I was so worried! I can't believe Riku would do something like that. Oh, Maya! The house is completely burned up! There's no way we can fix it!" Mom cried.

"What are we going to do, mom?" I asked.

"I guess we'll have to go stay with Grandma for a while…" she said. At my look of horror, she put on her "mom" face. "Maya, I know you don't want to go back there, but it is your hometown. It's silly if you ask me. Grandma's house is the only place we have left to go."

"Can't we just stay with Motoko for a while? Or Saki? Or Kari?" I begged.

"Maya, this won't be just for a little while. We don't have enough money to stay in the city or rent an apartment. I'll have to work for a while to save up the money." Mom explained, a sympathetic look on her face. "And besides. Won't it be nice to see all of your old friends again? I know Tasaka's missed you. And Fumi, too! Just give it a chance."

I knew that there was no other way, but that didn't mean I had to like it. Grandma lives in my old town, where mom, dad, and I lived before the divorce. That was where I first started _seeing_ things. Things no one else could see. It was also the place where my heart was broken for the first time. And it's the place where my nightmare takes place.

When I was in Junior High school, I was seriously into the occult and anything supernatural. I was convinced that _he _had some tie to the spirit world. Then people started disappearing. I remember following _him _out into the halls, but then nothing. Everything after that is a blur. The next thing I remember is waking up next to my mom who kept crying, "Maya! Maya, we're so glad you're back!" I remember thinking '_Back from where? Was I lost?' _ After that day, _he _stopped talking to me. We moved away and then Mom and Dad divorced. After that I stopped _seeing _things. Until last night.

Maybe _he _won't even be there anymore. Maybe I won't have to see _him_ at all. It was unlikely, but you can't blame a girl for hoping. Maybe my heart could stay in more or less one piece.

We arrived at Grandma's at around seven o'clock Saturday night. I was released from the hospital Tuesday and Mom and I stayed with her friend Motoko until our things were released. Not much survived the fire. The firefighters got there in time to save some of the things upstairs, but everything downstairs was destroyed. I felt a sense of emptiness in knowing that my home had been destroyed. There were some things in my room that survived. Jewelry, anything in my closet (which held most of my clothes, thankfully), and Dad's picture. But everything else was damaged.

Grandma welcomed us with open arms. Mom was her only child, and I her only grandchild. Though I knew she was lonely, living in this town all by herself without any family close by, I would kick up a tantrum whenever Mom would suggest coming to visit. That's how much I hated this place.

"Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you, Aiko!" she exclaimed to Mom as we got out of the car. She turned to me and exclaimed, "You too, Maya! It's good to have you home!"

Mentally, I winced at her mention of 'home.' This was not a place I'd like to stay in for too long. But, as I looked up at my grandmother, something told me she knew this. My eyes match hers perfectly, and sometimes I thought she might _see_ things the same way I do. Internally, I shook off these thoughts and followed her into the house. Grandma and Mom were talking again, but it was difficult to pay attention, so I merely glanced around the halls and noted how much this place had not changed.

"This is your room Maya, dear. Your mother's is next door and mine is right down the hall. There's a bathroom across the hall. You'll have to share it with your mother." Grandma explained, before leaving us to unpack.

I entered my new room and stared around at the sparse furniture. A twin bed, covered in a light blue comforter and green pillows, was pushed to the right hand side. Next to it stood a nightstand made out of a light wood. The desk, straight ahead of me, and the dresser, pushed to the left wall, were made out of the same wood. The door next to the dresser, I found upon opening it, led to a small, and completely empty, closet. The soft carpet under my feet was a sandy brown and the walls were light blue with green trim. A single window was set into the wall just above my desk. Overall, the room had a very natural feel to it, and that was comforting.

"Do you like it?" Grandma's voice came from the doorway. "I had a feeling you might be spending some time here in the future, so I redid the whole room just for you."

"I love it Grandma. It's perfect, you know, for me…" I gushed, a small spark of hope gathering in my chest. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome, dear." She replied with a knowing smile. "I know this town brings back unpleasant memories for you, but I want you to be happy here."

Again, I looked into my Grandmother's too-knowing eyes and wondered what she saw in mine. She ran her fingers through her grey hair and stepped back from the door.

"I'll let you get settled then." She stated simply before turning and stepping lightly down the hall.

I stared after her for a moment, and then hauled my bulging suitcase on my bed. Unzipping it, I removed the picture of my dad that had, thankfully, survived the fire and placed it on my nightstand. I then proceeded to unpack the contents of the bag, placing them either in the closet or in the dresser.

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A/N: So yeah, not a very exciting chapter. Sorry. But she is back where everything started now, which is cool.

Review please! Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

SIM: Oh wow… It's been a long time since I've updated. I am so sorry for those of you reading this story. This year has just been insane and I've been kind of jumping from fandom to fandom. This story kind of got pushed to the back of my mind. I can't guarantee that I'll update with any sort of regularity and it'll probably be a long time between updates, but I am determined to finish this story… eventually… Sorry again.

Hiei: We don't care about your life, onna. Just get to the damn story already.

SIM: Just for that Hiei, you get to do the disclaimer.

Hiei: Hn... the onna doesn't own anything (thankfully)

"Maya!" I heard grandma call the next morning. "You're going to be late for your first day of school!"

Groaning, I pulled myself out of the cocoon I had managed to wrap myself in, and succeeded in dumping myself -covers and all- on the floor. Sighing, I stood up and dragged myself to my closet where the uniform I was to wear hung ominously, wrapped in plastic. I removed it and changed quickly. Looking into the mirror over my dresser, I decided it wasn't worth it to try and do anything with my hair. I wondered idly, as I tied it up into a ponytail, why I had ever allowed it to grow out in the first place. Short hair was so much easier to take care of.

"Maya?" my grandmother called again.

"I'm up!" I called back. Mom was probably still asleep. Oddly, it felt nice to have someone actually care if I got to school on time.

I hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. I smiled when I saw Grandma there, a boxed lunch in one hand and two pieces of toast ready in the other.

"Thanks, Grams! I'll see you after school!" I called as she passed the items to me. I stuck a piece of toast in my mouth, grabbed my bag with the same hand that held my lunch, and headed out the door.

"Have a good first day, dear!" Grandma called back, a smile in her voice. I smiled back at her (a difficult trick when you have toast in your mouth) and waved before heading down the street towards the school.

I quickly finished my breakfast on the way there and wiped the crumbs off with a napkin I pulled from my pocket. The short, yellow and brown plaid skirt I wore made me nervous.

At my last school, the female students could choose whether they wanted a skirt or shorts, but my new school required skirts that barely graced the knees. The top was a white, short-sleeved blouse with a yellow scarf. As I entered the school grounds, I was immediately lost in a sea of people wearing the exact same thing I wore.

"Maya!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned my head in the direction the call came from. "Over here!"

Standing next to a cherry blossom that towered over the sidewalk were two familiar faces. The first was my best friend, Fumi, a short black haired girl with dark brown eyes. The other, Takasa, was a tall, brown haired boy who used to have a crush on me. Mentally I hoped he'd gotten over it. There was no way I needed a boyfriend.

I smiled lightly and made my way over to them. Fumi immediately tackled me with a hug and a barrage of squeals. Tasaka gave me a sympathetic look and a wave.

"Oh my gosh! It's soooo good to see you Maya! We've missed you soooo much!" Fumi gushed.

"It's good to see you guys, too." I said happily. Despite my distaste for the town, it was true. I did miss my old friends.

"Well, come on! We'll take you to the office so you can get your classroom assignment." Fumi exclaimed excitedly and I followed her into the school.

When we got inside, the secretary, a young, dark haired woman with glasses rimming her light brown eyes, smiled and asked, "How may I help you?"

"This is the new student, Maya Kitajima." Tasaka stated from behind me. The secretary smiled wider and pulled out a few sheets of paper from her desk.

"Welcome to Kireina High School, Ms. Kitajima. You've been placed in class 4A. Here's a map of the building and a note I need you to get your teachers to sign. Bring it back at the end of the day." She explained, handing me the papers. I nodded in thanks. "Have a wonderful day."

The three of us retreated out of the office and towards class. "Oh, isn't this so exciting?" Fumi asked. "You're in the same class as me and Tasaka, Maya!"

"It's great." I answered honestly.

We entered classroom 4A and took our seats. Fumi pulled me into one next to her and Tasaka sat behind us. The teacher entered as I was hooking my bag to the desk.

"Good morning class!" she called excitedly. "It appears we have a new student joining us this morning. Would you please come up here?"

I stood and stepped to the front of the room. The teacher sat in the chair behind the desk and motioned me forward.

"Don't be shy. Here are your books and a list of things you'll need for this class." She said kindly, passing me my materials. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Alright…" I said, hesitantly. I turned to face my new classmates, who were all staring at me like I'd grown three heads suddenly. I smiled and waved before saying, "My name's Maya Kitajima. Some of you may remember me. I used to live here up until my mom and I moved to the city about a year ago."

I paused long enough to see the awed looks on everyone's faces before sighing in frustration.

I growled, "I know you're all wondering, so just ask."

A girl in the front row raised her hand. I nodded to her and she asked, "A year ago when people started disappearing… aren't you the only one who was found?"

"Because Shuichi Minamino found you and saved you?" another girl, one with light brown hair and blue eyes added from near the back of the room. I winced slightly at the mention of _his_ name.

"Yes, that's pretty much what happened." I replied, attempting to keep my voice even. I was pleased that it didn't shake or break. The class then erupted into chatter. I could hear people calling, 'Oh, Shuichi's so cute! And strong! I'm not surprised he played the hero!' and 'She's so lucky she got to be saved by him.'

The little voice in my head grouched that _he _wasn't exactly the perfect person they envisioned him as. Perfect people don't just stop talking to you after they rescue you. But I cut off those thoughts before they led to more painful memories.

As the teacher, Ms. Sasaki, attempted to quiet down the class, I slipped back to my seat next to Fumi. She was animatedly engaged in a conversation with a girl to her left, assumedly about Shuichi and my rescue. I felt someone poke me in the back and turned around to see Tasaka.

He shot me a concerned look and whispered, "You okay?"

I forced a smile and shot back a quick "Fine."

I could tell he didn't really believe me, but fortunately he nodded and turned back to the teacher. I followed his example and turned back around as the lingering conversation died out. The day passed rather dully. Mostly people stared at me but seemed too scared to talk to me. A group of girls shot me dirty looks as they passed me at lunch. I mostly stuck with Fumi and Tasaka, an island of familiarity in the vast sea of unknown. They were the only ones who were brave enough come within a two yard radius of my. Honestly, it's not like I have the plague or anything. Darn rumors…

"I'll see you tomorrow, Maya." Fumi called as she ran after a group of her friends. Tasaka repeated this and followed her. My house was in the other direction. I turned and started back to Grandma's house.

"Welcome home, Maya!" Grandma called from the kitchen when I entered the house. The smell of food wafted through the hall as I took off my shoes and put on slippers.

"That smells great, Grams." I said, entering the kitchen to watch her work. She smiled and paused in her chopping.

"I'm making beef stew. Would you like to help?" she asked with a smile.

"Sure." I smiled back. I remembered cooking with Grandma when I was little and she'd babysit me. That was back when everything was good, Mom and Dad were still together, I couldn't _see _things…

"Go get changed and then you can help chop vegetables." Grandma's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I nodded. I changed into jeans and a blue baby tee, before poking my head into Mom's room to see if she was still in bed. The room was empty.

"Hey Grams?" I asked as I reentered the kitchen. "Where's mom?"

"She went job hunting." Grandma replied.

"Seriously?" I questioned, incredulous.

"Seriously." Grandma verified. "I don't think she wants to stay here any longer than she has to."

"Oh, you know we love you Grams. This place just doesn't bring back the greatest of memories…" I assured her.

"I know. Memories are powerful things, and I don't blame you for being uncomfortable here." She replied, chopping celery. "Now we're going to add these to the broth."

"I'm home!" Mom's voice came from the doorway.

"Hey mom!" I called from the kitchen.

"That smells great. What are you two making?" Mom asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Beef stew. It's just about ready." Grandma answered, stirring the contents of the big pot on the stove.

"Awesome. I'm starved." Mom said, wearing a three-piece suit and holding black pumps. She unpinned her hair from the bun it was in and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. When she came back she was wearing a tank top and jeans.

"Alright, Maya, will you set the table, dear?" Grandma asked a few moments later.

"Okay." I replied, moving to the cabinet to get out three bowls. I set them on the table along with spoons and glasses. Mom filled each glass with iced tea as Grandma filled each bowl with beef stew.

"So I ran into an old friend in town today." Mom said as we sat down to eat.

"Really? Who might that be?" Grams asked.

"My friend Shiori. She's getting remarried next fall, actually. You remember Ms. Shiori, don't you Maya?" Mom answered. I nearly choked on my stew. Swallowing, I nodded slowly and continued eating.

"Such a shame, what happened to her husband. And she was left to raise Shuichi all by herself." She continued. I winced once again, at hearing _his _name.

"Did you find any jobs today, Aiko?" Grandma asked, effectively changing the subject. I sighed in relief and finished my stew.

Mom had found a few openings, which once again made me hopeful. I tried to crush that hope. Hope was dangerous.

We finished dinner and I excused myself to my room. All of the excitement of the day was exhausting. Not to mention that I was forced to remember many things that were less than pleasant. Upon entering my room, I collapsed on my bed still in my clothes.


End file.
